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(No Model.) I

H. BOND 85 G. A. MERRILL.

TWIN SEWING MACHINE.- No. 251,675. Patented Dec. 27,1831.-

9 Wo'mexser.

i v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM BOND AND GEORGE A. MERRILL, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO SAID HIRAM BOND.

TWIN SEWING-MACHINE.

SPEOIFICATIONjorming part of Letters Patent No. 251,675, dated December Application filed August 12, 1881. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HIRAM BOND and GEoRGE A. MERRILL, of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,

have invented certain Improvements in Tnin Sewing-lllachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of sewing-machines which are provided with two, stitch-forming mechanisms adapted to form two parallel rows of stitches simultaneously, and laterally adjustable so as to form said rows at any desired distance apart, such machines being known as twin sewing-machines and used largely in attaching seam-covering stays to the uppers of boots and shoes, the two rows of stitches required to attach the stay to the two parts connected by the seam being made simultaneously.

Our invention has for'its object to enable an outside seam-covering stay to be readily and conveniently attached to a boot or shoe upper by a machine of this class; and to this end it consists, first, in the hereinafter-describedformation of the inner sides of the twin presserfeet of a machine of said class, whereby said feet are enabled to guide the opposite edges of an outside stay; secondly, in the provision of an auxiliary presser-foot adapted to hold down the stay behind the needles; and, thirdly, in the provision. of a slotted guide adapted to guide the unattached part of the stay in front of the needles, all of which we will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a portion of a twin sewlug-machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a top view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation, the bed and mechanism below being in section.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a to represent the needles, b b the, presser-feet, c c the feed-dogs, and dd the shuttles, ot'a twin sewing-machine, said parts forming two separate stitch forming mechanisms which are movable toward and from each other, as shown in the patent to G. Stackpole, J12, N 0. 45,278, dated November 29,

1864, the presser-feet b I) being adapted to be raised and lowered together to release and hold the work, and to be raised and lowered independentlyto a slight extent to accommodate each foot to a thickness of work varying 5 from the thickness under the other foot. These features of the machine, however, are not of our invention.

The outer ends of the presser-feet b b are provided with upwardly-projecting ears hav- 6o ing substantially vertical slots 0 located in front of the needles, andin these slots is placed a slotted bar or plate, 9, the plate being interposed between the presser-feet in front of the needles. The plate 9 is elongated so that it will admit of any desired separation of the presser-feet without losing its bearin gs in said feet. The plate is movable vertically in the slots 6 and pressed downwardly by springs h It attached to the feet, said springs enabling the plate to have a yielding movement independent of the presser-feet b b, so that said plate can yield to the extra thickness of work between but not under the feet I) b, caused by an outside stay of less width than the space between the proximate edges of said feet.

The plate g is provided with a slot, 9, which is adapted to receive the outside seam-eover ing stay, l, said stay passing through the slot to the needles,and being guided thereby, so that the unattached portion of the stay will not be pulled upwardly by the upward movement of the needles. The presser-feet b b are extended inwardly at b b on their proximate sides sufficiently to enable said extended edges 8; to form guides for the edges of the outside stay, as shown in Fig.2, said guides assisting the operator in guiding the work.

n represents an auxiliary presser foot located between the twin presser-feet b b, behind the needles a a, for the purpose of bearing on the outside stay and holding down the work, so that it will not be liable to rise or bulge upwardly between the presser-feet b b, and thus interfere with the. proper formation of the 5 stitches. Thepresser-foot n is provided with a vertical shank, 0, which is vertically movable in a socket in a block, r, supported by lateral armspp, projecting into orifices in the shanks of the presser-feet b t, the footn being adapted to rise and fall independently of the block r and of the feet b b. A spring, 8, interposed between the foot 11. and block 0, gives the footnadownward-yieldingpressure. Theblock ris adapted to rise and fall with the presser-feet b b. It will be seen, therefore, that in applying an outside stay to the upper of a boot or shoe by means of the duplicate stitch-forming mechanism the describedimprovements-via, the inwardly-extended edges of the presserfeet I) b, the auxiliary presser-foot n, and the slotted plate g-enable the operation to be accurately and conveniently performed. The block 'r can be moved laterally by sliding its arms 19 p inthe orifices of the presser-feet b b, so that the auxiliary presser-foot can be kept in a central position when the distance between the feet I) b is changed. A set-screw, s, in one or both of the presser-feet, bearing upon one of the arms 1), holds the presser-foot n from lateral movement when it is properly adjusted.

In another application for Letters Patent of the United States (serial No. 39,760) filed simultaneously with the present application we have claimed broadly the twin presser-feet provided with a device for guiding and holding down the work. Hence we wish it understood that in the present application the means for holding down and guiding the work are limited to the inward extension of the proximate edges of the presser-feet forward of the needle to bear upon the edges of an outside stay, and the provision of a device supported by said feet to bear upon the upper surface of the outside stay forward of the needles, the edges of the presser-feet guiding the stay laterally and the device supported by the feet preventing it from being raised in front of the needles.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. In combination with the stitch-forming mechanism of a twin sewing-machine, an intermediate presser-foct located between the twin presser-feet of said mechanism and adapted to be raised and lowered with said presserfeet and to be adjusted laterally and held in a central position, as set forth.

2. In combination with the stitch-forming mechanism of a twin sewing-machine, an intermediatelaterally-adjustable presser-foot, located between the twin presser-feet of'sald mechanism behind the needles, adapted to be raised and lowered with said presser-feet, and having an independent yielding movement, whereby it is enabled to yield to an extra thickness of material between the twin presser-feet, as set forth.

3. In a twin sewing-machine, the combination of the twin presser-feet extended inwardly on their proximate sidesin front of the needles,

and thereby adapted to guide the edges of an outside seam-covering stay, and the intermediatepresser-foot located between the twin presser-feet,behind the needles, and having an independent yielding movement, whereby it is adapted to hold down an outside stay laid between and guided by the edges of the twin presser-feet, as set forth.

4. In a twin sewing-machine, the combination of the twin presser-feet having the slotted stay guiding-plate in front of the needles and the auxiliary presser-l'oot behind the needles, as set forth.

5. In a twin sewing-machine, thetwin presser-feet b 11, extended inwardly at their proximate sides to bear upon the edges of an out side seam-coveringstayin frontof the needles, and provided with a device to bear upon the upper surface of the stay in front of the needles, whereby the stay is guided laterally and held down in advance of the point where it is stitched to the boot or shoe, as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day of August, A. D. 1881.

I-IIRAM BOND.- GEORGE A. MERRILL. Witnesses:

DAVID B. TENNEY, RAYMOND NoYns. 

